Sammi Carter - Accident Rehabilitation

Sammi was referred to motive8’s rehabilitation clinic in November 2008 after a road traffic accident. Sammi was a passenger in the car and had turned to look out the back window at the time of the collision. She was thrown sideways, forwards and backwards during the accident. Sammi was x-rayed from head to pelvis – no fractures were detected but she was hospitalised overnight.

Subsequently, Sammi experienced neck pain, headaches, shoulder pain and low back pain with pain radiating down both legs. She also experienced pins and needles in her right hand which lasted for approximately five days after the accident.

Initial assessment revealed a decreased range of movement in lateral rotation of the neck, a decrease in external rotation of the right shoulder as well as pain on both active and passive movements of the shoulder. Her thoracic spine was out of alignment leading to decreased rotational movement and flexion of the spine. The client’s pelvis was out of alignment too; a leg length discrepancy was evident with the left leg being longer than the right. Her sacroiliac joint was also locked and the sciatic nerve was impinged leading to bilateral leg pain. There was a lot of inflammation in the right side of the neck and both sides of the thoracic spine. All the spinal musculature was tight.

Sammi’s overall mobility was restricted as a result of the injuries sustained in the accident. She had a lot of discomfort when sitting, standing and walking and her pain was aggravated by prolonged standing and walking short distances. Her sleep pattern was disturbed and she suffered from headaches too.

Sammi’s treatment consisted of soft tissue work and realignment of her pelvis. She was provided with a rehabilitation programme to improve core strength, shoulder posture and stabilisation and to strengthen her lower back. The programme included exercises to increase flexibility of the hamstrings and neck stretches to increase movement at the cervical spine. Mobility exercises for the pelvis and thoracic spine were also provided, initially using Pilates-based core exercises.

By July 2009, Sammi was performing more advanced exercises such as squats on the bosu, lunges with 1 foot on the bosu, abdominal and oblique crunches on a Swiss-ball, hamstring curls on a Swiss-ball, box push-ups and back extensions on the ball. Some gentle CV exercise was introduced into Sammi’s programme – she comfortably managed 10 mins on x-trainer and 10-12 mins on the recumbant bike.

Sammi continued to see motive8 for a few fitness sessions in August and September 2009. Unfortunately Sammi had another road traffic accident in October 2009 which resulted in stiffness of her thoracic and lumbar spine. Fortunately the injuries were not as severe as those incurred from the first accident however Sammi had a further eight treatment sessions with motive8 from October 2009 until April 2010. Following treatment from motive8’s therapists, Sammi has been able to sleep comfortably again, return to walking and has even joined a gym to continue to maintain her core stability and improve her overall fitness.

"When I was first referred to Jenny at motive8 I was unsure what would happen to me. I was in a lot of pain, had very limited movement and couldn't see how I was ever going to improve."

"The initial sessions were very tough but, before long, I could feel real improvement. The sessions developed from putting me back together again to actual exercises which mentally was a huge achievement. Jenny encourages when she knows you need it and pushes you when she can see you are improving."

"After starting a bit like a crumpled bag of bones, I am now going to the gym, swimming and doing nearly all the things I did before the crash. It's been hard at times but absolutely worth the pain."

Sammi Carter